Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act to be gazetted soon, says Ministry

JOHOR BARU: The amendments to the Consumer Protection Act 1999 will be gazetted as soon as possible due to the increasing number of complaints the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry receives monthly.

Its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic) said that the amendments would increase the compensation sum the Consumer Claims Tribunal can award from RM25,000 to RM50,000.

"We want to implement it right now, but the amendments must be gazetted first," said Saifuddin.

He added that consumers who feel they have been cheated have two options; they can either lodge a police report and file a case in court or go to the Consumer Claims Tribunal, which is easier, cheaper and faster.

Saifuddin said that the Consumer Claims Tribunal was located throughout the country and that it has no backlog of cases.

He added that the move was to address public complaints on cases involving price hikes, online cheating and false advertising.